Danjuma Goje commends AGF for dropping fraud case against him

Earlier in July, the Federal High Court in Jos discharged the former Gombe State governor of the corruption charges filed against him after the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) applied for the withdrawal of the two charges that were part of an original 21 charges.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had charged Goje with 21 counts for allegedly misappropriating N25 billion while in office as governor.

However, 19 of the charges were dismissed by the court before the AGF's office took over the case in June 2019 amid a cloud of controversy.

It was alleged that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government made a deal with Goje to drop the charges if he dropped out of the race for Senate President in favour of Ahmad Lawan, the presidency's favourite.

The allegations carried extra weight after the EFCC suddenly handed over the case to the AGF's office immediately Goje dropped out of the race, and especially when the AGF's office finally submitted an application to withdraw the remaining two charges.

Senator Goje only dropped out of the race for Senate President after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari [Premium Times] Pulse Nigeria

However, in a statement signed by his counsel, Paul Erokoro, Goje said media reports about the withdrawal of criminal charges against him have been inaccurate.

He said the charges were actually withdrawn because the case had become more of persecution than prosecution.

He noted that even the senior EFCC operative who headed the investigation told the court that no evidence of wrongdoing was discovered.

Erokoro said, "The two remaining counts challenged the Governor's power to approve the recommendation of the Commissioner of Finance that the old, unserviceable buses of Gombe Line, be sold to the public, following the purchase of new ones.

"As every adult in Nigeria knows, the sale of unserviceable vehicles is a routine exercise periodically undertaken by the government and even by private organisations. This is the first time that the authority of a governor to approve such a sale has been made the subject of a criminal charge.

"The overused buses, many of which had become scraps, had been in use as commercial passenger vehicles for 7 to 8 years. The buses were valued by a proper Board of Survey at the cumulative sum of N22.5m. That value was realised from the sale and the proceeds were paid into the account of the Gombe State Government.

"The prosecution witnesses all testified that the procedure was proper and that the Governor did not buy any of the buses and took no benefit personally from the sale.

"The star witness of the Prosecution, a senior EFCC operative who headed the investigation, told the court that throughout their investigation, no money belonging to the Gombe State Government was traced to the Governor, his family members or associates.

"The witnesses also testified that the Governor was a prudent manager of Government funds and that it was he who even introduced Due Process into procurement procedures in Gombe State.

"The two counts of the charge that were withdrawn by the Attorney-General were an embarrassing triviality. The charges had become more of persecution than prosecution.

"It was therefore no surprise to those familiar with the case when the Attorney-General of the Federation withdrew those ridiculous charges.

"The Attorney-General did the right thing and should be commended for saving the face and the resources of the government, by terminating the futile proceedings."

Erokoro also pointed out that contrary to media reports, the sum total of all the monies mentioned in the charges was about N8 billion, and not N25 billion.

He also said the other 19 charges were dismissed by the court on a no case submission because the prosecution's own witnesses exonerated the former governor.

Goje was Gombe State governor between 2003 and 2011, and was elected to the Senate in 2011. He's won re-elections in 2015 and 2019.